Lubricating apparatus



April 29, 1941. J. R. MAHAN LUBRICATING APPARATUS Filed April 22, 1939 INVENTOR.

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Patented Apr. 29, 1941 LUBRICATING APPARATUS Joseph R. Mahan, Toledo, Ohio, assigner to The National Supply Company, Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application April 22, 1939, Serial No. 269,434

Claims.

This invention relates generally to lubricating apparatus and more particularly to apparatus for lubricating the valves and cylinder walls of steam engines.

This improved lubricator may be advantageously applied to duplex steam engines for slush pumps wherein the piston rod of one cylinder actuates the valve rod of the other cylinder through a rocker arm and shaft mechanism.

It is the present practice to mount the oil reservoir, injector and lubricator pump on the steam chest of the duplex pump above the steam valves. The pump is actuated by means of a rod connected to one of the rocker arms which are supported midway between the steam and pump cylinders. The vibration created by the engine in pumping slush to the bottom of a deep oil well coupled with the jerk action of the actuatingv rod destroys the pump parts in a short time, rendering the lubricator ineffective, which results in scored valve faces and cylinder walls.

The principal object of the present invention is the provision of an improved lubricator for use on a duplex steam engine that is not susceptible to the severe and destructive vibrations of the engine,

Another object is the provision of an improved lubricating apparatus which is simplied in structure, makingr it economical to manufacture and maintain and which will supply a constant quantity of oil for lubricating the valve faces and cylinder walls.

Another object is the provision of an improved lubricating atomizer.

Another object is the provision of an improved spring-loaded injector check valve.

Another object is the provision of a new and improved lubricator pump.

Other objects and advantages appear in the y following description and claims.

In the accompanying drawing a practical embodiment illustrating the principles of this invention is shown. The view is a side elevation of a duplex steam slush pump with the novel lubricator parts attached thereto and shown in section, parts of the steam engine being broken steam chest of the duplex pump which contains the valves for controlling the operation of the cylinders Il of the duplex steam engine. The

frame I2 connects the steam cylinder II with the in its seated position by the spring 3|.

slush pump cylinders, the latter not being shown. The piston rods which connect the steam piston heads with their respective slush pump piston heads reciprocate through the frame I2. A rocker shaft casting I3 is mounted on the frame I2 and has journaled therein two transversely disposed rocker shafts I4 and I5. The end of the rocker shaft I4 extends through the near side of the casting I3 and the rocker arm I6 is secured thereto. The other end of the shaft I5 extends through the far side of the casting and is provided with a similar though longer rocker arm not shown. The lower ends of these rocker arms are engaged by plates on their respective piston rods and operate the steam valves. of the opposite steam cylinders through the rocker shafts I4 and I5 and their corresponding valve rods.

The lubricant reservoir Il is secured to the top of the steam chest I0 and is connected by the liexible pipe line I8 to the inlet of the pump I9 where the lubricant passes through an inlet check valve to the chamber 20 and is discharged through the outlet check valve 2I to the flexiblepipe line 22 where it is delivered to the injector check valve 23.

The housing 24 of the pump I9 is secured to the casting 25 which in turn is fastened to the side of the rocker shaft housing I3 and extends thereinto. The lubricant pump plunger 26 is arranged to operate in the bore 21 of the housing forming the pump chamber which is connected to the inlet chamber 20 by the radially disposed ports 28. The pump chamber is connected by the passageway 29 to the chamber 33 of the discharge valve 2I. This valve is conical in shape and is arranged to close on its seat formed by the opening of the end of the passageway 29. The valve 2| is spring loaded, being held When the lubricant reaches a predetermined pressure the valve 2l is lifted from its seat, compressing the spring 3I, thus permitting the lubricant to flow under pressure from the passageway 29 through the valve chamber 30 to the discharge line 22.

A by-pass valve 32 is arranged to control the iiow of lubricant from the passageway 29 to the passageway 33. The latter passageway may permit the lubricant that is by-passed to be discharged directly or it may be connected to the inlet of the pump between the pipe line I 8 and the inlet valve. Thus by opening the valve 32 the amount of lubricant that is permitted to bypass may be regulated, which determines the pressure `developed by the pump.

The ports 28 in the side wall of the pump chamber 21 are closed by the pump plunger 26 during the last portion of the pressure stroke. Thus the full pressure developed by the plunger is not subjected to the inlet chamber and the inlet check valve.

The suction stroke of the pump plunger 26 is produced by the spring 34 which is connected to the plunger by means of the retainer Washer and lock 35 in the manner similar to that of a poppet valve. This spring holds the outer end of the plunger against the head of the plunger guide 36 at all times. This guide is provided with runners 31 which engage corresponding tracks 38 on the casting 25,

The other side of the guide head is provided with outwardly projecting lugs 39 which are spaced apart and are provided with aligned holes for receiving the shaft 40 upon which the roller 4| is journaled. This roller engages the operating surface of the cam 42 which is secured to the transverse rocker shaft I4. The roller is thus maintained in contact with the cam by the pressure of the spring 34. v

The operating surface of the cam 42 follows a spiral curve of uniformly increasing distance from the axis of oscillation of the rocker shaft I4 as indicated at 43. Adjacent its upper end the cam surface is substantially cylindrical as indicated at 44, thereby limiting the extent of the movement of the plunger during the compression stroke. The limit of the movement of the plunger on its suction stroke is determined by the arc of movement of the rocker arm in swinging clocki,

the pump plunger mechanism is not subjected to Y shock which produced considerable wear on the moving parts of the pumps previously used for this purpose and finally resulted in their failure.

The lubricant upon passing through the discharge line 22 to the spring-loaded injector check valve must enter the blinker sight feed chamber s 45, lift the valve 46 and flow past the glass window 41 through the passageway 48 into the injection chamber 49, When the pressure of the lubricant is sufficiently high to open the injector valve 50 compressing the spring 5I through the passageway 52 to the atomizer 53.

The atomizer 53 is operated by steam. Superheated steam is picked up by the scoop shaped receiver 54 which extends into thesteam inlet connection 55 of the engine. The pressure of the high velocity steam impinges against the scoop and continuously forces a portion of thesuperheated steam through the passageway 56, the conit ows Y denser coil 51, the passageway 58 to the atornizer 53. The superheated steam is partially condensed and the saturated steam resulting therefrom passes down the centrally disposedtubeSS of the atomizer, where it comes in contact with the lubricant producing an emulsion which is carried up through the atomizing chamber` 60 and is discharged through the nozzle 6I into the center of the steam inlet 55 of the engine. The tip of the atomizer discharge nozzle 6| is open downwardly in the direction of the flow of the steam and veatomizer. This constant iiow of fluid carries the emulsified -lubricant into the steam inlet where it is immediately vaporized and carried through the steam valves to the steam cylinders lubricating the same.

The discharge pressure of the lubricant pump and the spring tension of the injector must be greater than the steam pressure supplied to the engine in order to supply a continuous quantity of lubricant to the atomizer.

The lubricant pump being mounted within the rocker shaft housing is not subjected to the severe vibrations as when mounted on the steam chest of these heavy duty duplex pumps. The number of parts of this lubricant pump have been reduced to a minimum and the moving parts operate in the lubricant bath retained by the rocker shaft housing. Thus no extraneous lubrication is required for this apparatus.

'I he mechanical actuating rod connected to the rocker arm for driving the lubricant pump has been eliminated and the jerking movement of this element has been replaced by the smooth operation of the cam and roller. Any lost motion that may have developed by wear in the former apparatus has been eliminated. Thus the lubricant pump operates smoothly even though it is driven from a jerking intermittent motion and the destructive vibrations are not effective in wearing out its moving parts. .A It is connected with the steam'chest by flexible conduits and as long as a lubricant is maintained in the reservoirthere is little danger of the valve faces and cylinder walls of the steam engine being scored. This improved pump -does not require the attention and service of the former apparatus, which is an important improvement in this character of apparatus which is used extensively in the oil fields in conjunction with drilling operations.

I claim: y

1. In `apparatus of the class described, the combinationof duplex aligned steam and pump cylinders, aframe connecting said cylinders, piston rods extending between the aligned cylinders, a stand supported by said frame intermediate of its ends, a pairv of rocker shafts supported by said stand for operating the Valves of the steam engine, a rocker arm connecting each rocker shaft with its respective piston rod, a cam on one of said rocker shafts, a pump body removably mounted adjacent the cam and supported by the stand, a pump plunger having one end extending into the pump body, a head engaged by the other end of said plunger and indirect operating relation with the cam on the rocker shaft, a spring for continuously urging the plunger and the head into operating relation with the cam, a lubricant reservoir connected with the pump, and a lubricant line connecting the pump to the steam inlet of the engine to lubricate the valves and cylinder walls of the engine whereby thepump plunger and its associated parts operate uniformly and are unmolested by the vibration resulting from the operation of the steam engine and the slush pump.

2. A force feed pump for lubricating the valves and cylinder walls of a duplex steam engine having a rocker shaft assembly enclosed by a housing, the combination of a circular face on the side of the housing having an opening disposed normal to the axis of the rocker shaft, an annular insert having an inturned flange mating vwith the sidesV of the housing opening and having a central bore, a cam mounted on one of the rocker shafts with its operating surface disposed in line With the bore, parallel guides extending inwardly from the insert on opposite sides of the bore, a tubular cylindrical head having one end closed and slidably mounted Within the bore on said guides, a roller mounted on the closed end of the head and arranged to engage the operating surface of the cam, a pump body removably mounted on said insert and closing the bore, a pump chamber in the pump body aligned with the axis of the bore, a valved outlet connected with the pump chamber, a piston having one end extending into the pump chamber and the other end engaging the inner face of the head, an inlet port connecting with the pump chamber and arranged to be closed by the advancing movement of the piston into the pump chamber, a retainer Washer and lock secured to the piston adjacent the outer end, and a spring compressed between the retainer Washer and the pump body for holding the roller in constant engagement With the cam, whereby the pump piston completes a full pumping cycle for every complete oscillating cycle of the rocker shaft.

3. A force feed pump for lubricating the valves and cylinder Walls of a duplex steam engine having a rocker shaft assembly enclosed by a housing, the combination of a face on the side of the housing having an opening disposed normal to the axis of the rocker shaft, an insert having an inturned flange mating with the sides of the housing opening and having a central bore, a cam mounted on one of the rocker shafts with its operatig surface disposed in line with the bore, parallel guides extending inwardly from the insert on opposite sides of the bore, a head slidably mounted Within the bore on said guides, a roller mounted on the head and arranged to engage the operating surface of the cam, a pump body removably mounted on said insert and closing the bore, a pump chamber in the pump body aligned with the axis of the bore, inlet and outlet connections communicating with the pump chamber, a piston having one end extending into the pump chamber and the other end engaging the inner face of the head, and a spring compressed between the pump body and the piston for holding the roller in constant engagement with the cam, whereby the pump piston completes a full pumping cycle for every completev oscillating cycle of the rocker shaft.

4. In apparatus for lubricating the valves and cylinder walls of a duplex steam engine having a steam valve-operating rocker shaft assembly including a stand therefor, the combination of an eccentric element mounted on one of the rocker shafts of the engine, a pump body removably mounted as a unit on the stand with its inner end adjacent the eccentric element, a pump chamber, a pump plunger having one end arranged to reciprocate Within the chamber, a head interposed in direct operative engagement betvveen the other end of the plunger and the eccentric element and arranged to reciprocate the plunger in response to the oscillating movement of the roc-ker shaft, a lubricant reservoir connected with the inlet of the pump, and a lubricant line connecting the discharge of the pump to the steam inlet of the engine.

5. In apparatus for lubricating the valves and cylinder walls of a duplex steam engine having a steam valve-operating rodker shaft assembly including a stand therefor, the combination of a cam on one of said rocker shafts, a pump body removably mounted as a unit on the stand with its inner end adjacent the cam, a pump chamber within the pump body, a pump plunger having one end arranged to reciprocate Within the chamber, a head interposed in direct operative engagement between the other end of the plunger and the cam, a spring for continuously urging the plunger into engagement with the head and the head into engagement with the cam for reciprocating the plunger in response to the oscillating movement of the rocker shaft, a lubricant reservoir mounted on the engine and connected to the inlet cf the pump, and a lubricant line for connecting the discharge of the pump to the steam inlet of the engine.

JOSEPH R. MAHAN. 

